Physical Geography of Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union is divided into three major geographical units: Artic Islands, Scandinavia and The Antartic Territories . 'Artic Islands' Iceland Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small island of Grímsey off Iceland's northern coast, but not through mainland Iceland. Unlike neighbouring Greenland, Iceland is a part of Europe, not of North America, though geologically the island is part of both continental plates. The closest bodies of land are Greenland (287 km) and the Faroe Islands (420 km). The closest distance to the mainland of Kalmar Union is 970 km. Iceland is the world's 18th largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain. The main island is 101,826 km2 but the entire country is 103,000 km2 in size, of which 62.7% is tundra. There are thirty minor islands in Iceland, including the lightly populated island of Grímsey and the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3%; only 23% is vegetated. The largest lakes are Þórisvatn (Reservoir): 83–88 km2 and Þingvallavatn: 82 km2; other important lakes include Lögurinn and Mývatn. Öskjuvatn is the deepest lake, at 217 m. Geologically, Iceland is a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new oceanic crust. In addition, this part of the mid-ocean ridge is located atop a mantle plume causing Iceland to be subaerial. Iceland marks the boundary between both the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate since it has been created by rifting, and accretion through volcanism, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—where the two plates meet. Many fjords punctuate its 4,970 km-long coastline, which is also where most settlements are situated. The island's interior, the Highlands of Iceland, are a cold and uninhabitable combination of sand and mountains. The major towns are the capital of Reykjavík, along with its outlying towns of Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður and Garðabær, Reykjanesbær, where the international airport is located, and Akureyri, in northern Iceland. The island of Grímsey just south of the Arctic Circle contains the northernmost habitation of Iceland Svalbard Svalbard is an archipelago between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea and Norwegian Sea, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. The treaty defines Svalbard as all islands, islets and skerries from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The land area is 61,022 km2 (23,561 sq mi), and dominated by the island Spitsbergen, which constitutes more than half the archipelago, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. All settlements are located on Spitsbergen, except the meteorological outposts on Bjørnøya and Hopen. Svalbard is located in the north-western corner of the Eurasian Plate. To the south and east, the seabed is shallow at 200 to 300 metres (660 to 980 ft), while to the north and west it sinks down to about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). North of Svalbard there is pack ice and the North Pole, and to the south mainland Norway. Being located north of the Arctic Circle, Svalbard experiences both midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. At 74° north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at 81° are 141 and 128 days. In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February. In winter, the combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light. Glaciation covers 36,502 km2 (14,094 sq mi) or 60% of Svalbard; 30% is barren rock while 10% is vegetated. The largest glacier is Austfonna (8,412 km2) on Nordaustlandet, followed by Olav V Land and Vestfonna. During summer, it is possible to ski from Sørkapp in the south to the north of Spitsbergen, with only a short distance not being covered by snow or glacier. Kvitøya is 99.3% covered by glacier. The landforms of Svalbard were created through repeated ice ages, where glaciers cut the former plateau into fjords, valleys and mountains. The tallest peak is Newtontoppen (1,713 m), followed by Perriertoppen (1,712 m). The longest fjord is Wijdefjorden (108 km), followed by Isfjorden (107 km), Van Mijenfjorden (83 km), Woodfjorden (64 km) and Wahlenbergfjorden (46 km). Jan Mayen To the far northwest, halfway towards Greenland, is the island Jan Mayen, where Beerenberg is found, the only active volcano in Norway. Jan Mayen consists of two geographically distinct parts. Nord-Jan has a round shape and is dominated by the 2,277 m high Beerenberg volcano with its large ice cap (114.2 km2), which can be divided into twenty individual outlet glaciers. The largest of those is Sørbreen, with an area of 15.00 km2 and a length of 8.7 km2. South-Jan is narrow, comparatively flat and unglaciated. Its highest elevation is Rudolftoppen with 769 m. The station and living quarters are located on South-Jan. The island lies at the northern end of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent. The microcontinent was originally part of the Greenland Plate, but now forms part of the Eurasian Plate. Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands are an island group consisting of 18 major islands about 655 kilometres off the coast of Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Region of Iceland and Region of Norway, the closest neighbours being the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland. Its coordinates are 62°00′N 06°47′W. Its area is 1,399 square kilometres, and it has no major lakes or rivers. There are 1,117 kilometres of coastline. The only major island that is uninhabited is Lítla Dímun. The islands are rugged and rocky with some low peaks; the coasts are mostly cliffs. The highest point is Slættaratindur, 882 metres above sea level. 'Scandinavia' The geography of Scandinavia is extremely varied. Notable are the norwegian region fjords, the Scandinavian Mountains, the flat, low areas in southern region of Sweden, and the archipelagos of the regions of Sweden and Norway. Sweden has many lakes and moraines, legacies of the ice age. The climate varies from north to south and from west to east; a marine west coast climate typical of western Europe dominates in the southernmost part of Sweden and along the west coast of Norway reaching north to 65°N, with orographic lift giving more ;mm/year precipitation (<5000 mm) in some areas in western Norway region. The central part – from Oslo to Stockholm – has a humid continental climate, which gradually gives way to subarctic climate further north and cool marine west coast climate along the northwestern coast. A small area along the northern coast east of the North Cape has tundra climate as a result of a lack of summer warmth. The Scandinavian Mountains block the mild and moist air coming from the southwest, thus northern Sweden region and Finnmarksvidda plateau in Norway region receive little precipitation and have cold winters. Large areas in the Scandinavian mountains have alpine tundra climate. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Scandinavia is 38.0 °C in Målilla. The coldest temperature ever recorded is −52.6 °C in Vuoggatjålme. The warmest month on record was July 1901 in Oslo, with a mean (24hr) of 22.7 °C, and the coldest month was February 1985 in Vittangi with a mean of -27.2 °C. Southwesterly winds further warmed by foehn wind can give warm temperatures in narrow Norwegian fjords in winter; Tafjord has recorded 17.9 °C in January and Sunndal 18.9 °C in February. Region of Norway Region of Norway comprises the western part of Scandinavia. The rugged coastline, broken by huge fjords and thousands of islands, stretches 25,000 kilometres and 83,000 kilometres including fjords and islands. Much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoric glaciers and varied topography. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the Ice Age. The longest is Sognefjorden at 204 kilometres. Sognefjorden is the world's second deepest fjord, and Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake in Europe. Frozen ground all year can be found in the higher mountain areas and in the interior of Finnmark county. Numerous glaciers are found in Norway. The land is mostly made of hard granite and gneiss rock, but slate, sandstone and limestone are also common, and the lowest elevations contain marine deposits. Because of the Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences higher temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime Subarctic climate. The southern and western parts of Norway experience more precipitation and have milder winters than the southeastern part. The lowlands around Oslo have the warmest and sunniest summers but also cold weather and snow in wintertime (especially inland). Region of Sweden Situated in Northern Europe, Region of Sweden lies west of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Much of Sweden is heavily forested, with 78% of the country being forest and woodland, while farmland constitutes only 1% of land use. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Mountains and hills are dominant in the west. About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle. The lowest elevation in Sweden is in the bay of Lake Hammarsjön, near Kristianstad at -2.41 m (−7.91 ft) below sea level. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,111 m (6,926 ft) above sea level. The highest population density is in the Öresund region in southern Sweden and in the valley of lake Mälaren near to Stockholm. Gotland and Öland are Sweden's largest islands; Vänern and Vättern are its largest lakes. Vänern is the third largest in Europe. Sweden consists of 39,960 km² of water area, constituting around 95,700 lakes. The lakes are sometimes used for water power plants, especially the large northern rivers and lakes. The two largest islands are Gotland and Öland in the southeast. Region of Denmark Region of Denmark shares a border of 68 kilometres with Germany to the south and is otherwise surrounded by 7,314 kilometres of coastline. It occupies 43,094 square kilometres. Since 2000 Denmark has been connected by the Øresund Bridge to southern Region of Sweden. Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands (1,419 islands above 100 m² in total). Of these, 72 are inhabited, with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The island of Bornholm is located east of the rest of the region, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges. Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen on Zealand; Århus, Aalborg and Esbjerg in Jutland; and Odense on Funen. The region is flat with little elevation; having an average height above sea level of 31 metres. The highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres. Denmark's coastline is, 7,314 km and no location in Denmark is further from the coast than 52 km. 'Greenland' Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island. It lies between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. The Atlantic Ocean borders Greenland's southeast; the Greenland Sea is to the east; the Arctic Ocean is to the north; and Baffin Bay is to the west. The average daily temperature of Nuuk, Greenland varies over the seasons from −8 to 7 °C (18 to 45 °F). The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 km2 (836,330 sq mi) (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km2 (677,855 sq mi) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2,850,000 km3 (680,000 cu mi).60 The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at 3,700 m (12,139 ft) of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than 1,500 m (4,921 ft) in elevation. The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m (984 ft) below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast. The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen. All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. Southern Greenland lives up to its name as it is truly a green land. Agriculture thrives here with many farms and luxuriant vegetables, in contrast to a barren ice world that covers much of Greenland. Hay is harvested in Igaliku, Kujalleq. The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than 7 m (23 ft). In 2007 the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: Warming Island), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century. 'The Antartic Territories' Bouvet Island Bouvet Island is located at 54°26′S 3°24′E﻿ / ﻿54.433°S 3.4°E﻿ / -54.433; 3.4. It is 49 km2 in area, 93% of which is covered by glaciers, which block the south and east coasts. A number of rocks and very small satellite islands lie offshore, including Lars Island to the southwest. The nearest land is Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, over 1,750 kilometres away to the south, which does not have a permanent population but is the site of a Kalmar Union all-year military and research station. To the northeast, it is about 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) to Cape Town. Bouvet Island has no ports or harbours, only offshore military platforms, and is therefore difficult to approach. Wave action has created a very steep coast. The easiest way to access the island is with a helicopter from a ship. The glaciers form a thick ice layer falling in high cliffs into the sea or onto the black beaches of volcanic sand. The 29.6 km of coastline are often surrounded by pack ice. The highest point on the island is called Olavtoppen, whose peak is 780 m above sea level. A lava shelf on the island's west coast formed between 1955 and 1958 and provides a nesting site for birds. Peter I Island Peter I Island is a volcanic island located 450 kilometers off the coast of Ellsworth Land of Continental Antarctica. It is 9 by 11 kilometers and has an area of 156 square kilometers. The island is almost entirely covered by glacier, with about 95% of the surface covered by ice. Surrounding the island is a 40-meter tall ice front and vertical cliffs. The long stretches of ice caps are supplemented with rock outcrops. Landing is only possible at three points, and that is only possible the short period of the year the island is not covered by pack ice. These landings take place on the west side at Kapp Ingrid Christensen, a peninsula which divides the bays Norvegiabukta and Sandefjordbukta. On the cape are some narrow strips of beach, which are suitable for landing. The beach in Norvegiabukta is just 4 metres wide and is entered via the natural arch Tsarsporten. On the west side is a plateau, while the north and south coasts feature ice shelves. The eastern side is the steepest and feature two rock columns with flat tops in the sea. The island is a shield volcano, although it is not known if it is still active, and it has been categorized as either Holocene or historic, based on date samples ranging from 0.1 to 0.35 million years ago. The summit, Lars Christensen Peak, is a 100-meter wide circular crater. An Ultra prominent peak at 1,640 meters elevation, it is named for Lars Christensen. It is not known whether this volcano is extinct or not, because the upper part is apparently unmodified by glaciation—indicating an eruption several centuries ago. Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land is the part of Antarctica which was claimed by Kalmar Union as a dependent territory on 14 January 1939. This claim, like all others in the Antarctic, is not universally recognized and is subject to the terms of the Antarctic Treaty System. It is named for Maud of Wales (1869–1938), queen consort of King Haakon VII of Norway. It is also called this by the British Antarctic Survey. The territory has a land area of approximately 2.5 million square kilometers, mostly covered by the Antarctic ice sheet lying between the British claim, at 20°W and the Australian claim, at 44°38'E. Norway has not officially elaborated as to the northernly and southernly extent of their claim. This explains why the Kalmar Union claim is illustrated differently from other claims on some maps of Antarctica. It is however generally assumed that the Kalmar Union claim follows the norms of the other Antarctic claims. Category:Kalmar Union